Secretary Kerry Reinstates Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Fall Guys

The Four State Department Officials Placed On Administrative Leave By Hillary Clinton Have Been Asked Back To Work By Secretary John Kerry. "Secretary of State John Kerry has determined that the four State Department officials placed on administrative leave by Hillary Clinton after the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi do not deserve any formal disciplinary action and has asked them to come back to work at the State Department starting Tuesday." (Josh Rogin, "Kerry Reinstates Benghazi Officials Clinton Punished," The Daily Beast, 8/19/13)

When He Came To The State Department, Secretary Kerry Wanted To Review The ARB's Findings And "Match Those Against His Own On-The-Job Findings." "'As soon as he came into the department, Secretary Kerry wanted to invest the time to review the ARB's findings and match those against his own on-the-job findings about security,' the senior State Department official said. 'He's been hands-on focused on building on the lessons learned from the Benghazi attack to strengthen security at missions world-wide and continue the ARB's security paradigm shift.'" (Josh Rogin, "Kerry Reinstates Benghazi Officials Clinton Punished," The Daily Beast, 8/19/13)

The State Department Confirmed That All Four Officials Placed On Leave Have Returned To Regular Duty And Would Not Face Any Formal Disciplinary Action. "A senior State Department official confirmed to The Daily Beast Monday that all four officials placed on administrative leave were now returned to regular duty and would not face any formal disciplinary action. The administrative leave designation was not a formal punishment, but did prevent the officials from working while the Kerry team, which inherited the Benghazi issue from the Clinton team in February, reviewed their cases." (Josh Rogin, "Kerry Reinstates Benghazi Officials Clinton Punished," The Daily Beast, 8/19/13)

CLINTON'S IDEA OF BENGHAZI ACCOUNTABILITY WAS DISCIPLINING FOUR MID-LEVEL OFFICIALS - INCLUDING ONE WHO HAD NO ROLE IN SECURITY DECISIONS

Following The Release Of The ARB Report, Four Mid-Level State Officials Were Placed On Leave And Continued Collecting Government Paychecks. "Following the ARB investigation into the incident, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton placed Diplomatic Security Chief Eric Boswell, security officials Charlene Lamb and Scott Bultrowicz and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Maghreb Region Raymond Maxwell on administrative leave. They continued collecting their government paychecks during their leave, but have remained in employment limbo until this week." ("Kerry Clears 4 State Staffers Put On Leave Over Benghazi Attack To Return To Work," CBS News, 8/20/13)

"But Lawmakers And Experts Are Asking Why The Disciplinary Action Stops There." "One State Department mid-level official has resigned over the security failures related to the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi and three others have been placed on 'administrative leave.' But lawmakers and experts are asking why the disciplinary action stops there."(Josh Rogin, "Mid-Level Officials Take The Fall For Benghazi," Foreign Policy, 12/20/12)

One Of The Officials Put On Leave By Clinton's Aides Was Raymond Maxwell, "A Mid-Level Official Who Had No Role In Security Decisions And Has Never Been Told The Charges Against Him." "Following the attack in Benghazi, senior State Department officials close to Hillary Clinton ordered the removal of a mid-level official who had no role in security decisions and has never been told the charges against him. He is now accusing Clinton's team of scapegoating him for the failures that led to the death of four Americans last year." (Josh Rogin, "Exclusive: Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out," The Daily Beast, 5/20/13)

Hillary Clinton's Chief Of Staff Cheryl Mills Instructed Acting Assistant Secretary For Near Eastern Affairs Beth Jones To Remove Raymond Maxwell From His Position As Deputy Assistant Secretary For Near Eastern Affairs (NEA). "The decision to place Maxwell on administrative leave was made by Clinton's chief of staff Cheryl Mills, according to three State Department officials with direct knowledge of the events. On the day after the unclassified version of the ARB's report was released in December, Mills called Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Beth Jones and directed her to have Maxwell leave his job immediately. 'Cheryl Mills directed me to remove you immediately from the [deputy assistant secretary] position,' Jones told Maxwell, according to Maxwell." (Josh Rogin, "Exclusive: Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out," The Daily Beast, 5/20/13)

Maxwell's Removal "Seems To Conflict" With The ARB's Finding That Responsibility For The Benghazi Attacks Would Be Fixed "At The Assistant Secretary Level." "The decision to remove Maxwell and not Jones seems to conflict with the finding of the ARB that responsibility for the security failures leading up to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi should fall on more senior officials. 'We fixed [the responsibility] at the assistant secretary level, which is in our view the appropriate place to look, where the decision-making in fact takes place, where, if you like, the rubber hits the road,' Pickering said when releasing the ARB report." (Josh Rogin, "Exclusive: Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out," The Daily Beast, 5/20/13)

The ARB Found "Systemic Failures And Leadership And Management Deficiencies At Senior Levels Within Two Bureaus Of The State Department," Including The Assistant Secretaries And Possibly "7th Floor" Leadership. "The report found 'systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department,' namely the Diplomatic Security (DS) and Near East bureaus. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns testified in December that requests for more security in Libya, denied by the State Department, did reach the assistant secretaries and 'it may be that some of my colleagues on the 7th floor saw them as well.'" (Josh Rogin, "Exclusive: Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out," The Daily Beast, 5/20/13)

Maxwell's Superiors, The Assistant Secretary Of State For Near Eastern Affairs Beth Jones And Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary For Near Eastern Affairs Liz Dibble, Were Not Disciplined. "But Jones was not disciplined in any way following the release of the report, nor was the principal deputy assistant secretary of State at NEA, Liz Dibble, who is slated to receive a plush post as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in London this summer." (Josh Rogin, "Exclusive: Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out," The Daily Beast, 5/20/13)

Jones And Dibble Handled "All Security Related Decisions" For Libya. "Jones and Dibble were responsible for security in Libya, Maxwell and three State Department officials said. What's more, when Maxwell was promoted to his DAS position in August 2011, most responsibility for Libya was carved out of his portfolio, which also included Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Although Maxwell did some work on Libya, all security related decisions were handled by Dibble and Jones, according to the three officials." (Josh Rogin, "Exclusive: Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out," The Daily Beast, 5/20/13)